AT THE ACS QUALITY & SAFETY CONFERENCE
NEW YORK (FRONTLINE MEDICAL NEWS) – With dehydration considered a contributor to hospital readmission after bariatric weight loss surgery, a multidisciplinary team of clinicians searched for a way to get patients to drink up. Specifically, they launched a quality improvement (QI) project to standardize, measure, and increase fluid intake during recovery in the hospital.
The project results were presented at a poster session at the American College of Surgeons Quality and Safety Conference.
Bariatric readmits were a concern, said Katrina Melei , the bariatric program coordinator at Greenwich (Conn.) Hospital when the initiative launched. She and colleagues looked at dehydration in these readmit patients, but discovered no consistency in how fluids were being delivered or how intake was recorded after sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y procedures.
“Our QI project was to streamline that process to ultimately eliminate or decrease those readmits,” Ms. Melei said.
They used 8-ounce water bottles. To track water consumption, they also numbered the bottles one through six for each patient. One-ounce cups were used during mealtimes. RNs, certified nursing assistants, and food service staff were educated about the fluid intake initiative. Only fluids provided by nursing were permitted and patients also received a clear message about fluid goals.
Another focus was standardizing communication with patients. They were not getting a consistent message from staff on what to expect before, during, and after surgery. “So we had to make sure [we] were all saying the same thing.”
The nurses and the other staff now ask the patients “Did you finish the bottle?” or “Where are you with the bottles?” Ms. Melei said. “At the end of a shift, the nurses document fluid consumption.”
During a 2-month baseline period, 12 patients drank an average 381.5 mL over 24 hours. Since the close of the project, the average daily fluid intake for patients undergoing bariatric surgery is 1,007 mL. In 12 months post implementation, average fluid intake for 39 patients jumped to 1,109.5 mL over 24 hours. “It was just such a hugely successful program. We had buy-in from every department, it worked really well, and we had great results,” said Cheryl Williams, the current bariatric program coordinator at Greenwich Hospital.
Sometimes dehydrated patients present to an emergency department complaining of vomiting, headache, and dizziness if they are not properly hydrated after surgery, Ms. Williams said. “Preventing dehydration helps to improve the patient’s recovery, as well as decrease emergency room visits and hospital admissions.”
Ashutosh Kaul, MD, FACS, medical director of the bariatric surgery program at Greenwich Hospital, said this study shows the importance of team building to improve patient care. “We built a core team that implemented a simple, low-cost, structured, and well-defined water distribution and documentation process, which resulted in better compliance of water intake. This reduced variability and improved postoperative intake progression, and we are presently studying its effect on reduction of readmissions and facilitating early discharge.”
Greenwich Hospital’s bariatric surgery center is accredited by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), a collaboration between the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Ms. Williams and Ms. Melei had no relevant financial disclosures.
